Credit Suisse chiefs say sorry to angry shareholders

ZURICH, Switzerland — Credit Suisse chairman Axel Lehmann said Tuesday he was "truly sorry" that the beleaguered bank could not be saved as he faced angry and tearful shareholders whose money has gone up in smoke.

Credit Suisse's chiefs fronted up at the bank's annual general meeting, 16 days after its hastily arranged takeover by larger rival UBS -- a mega-merger of Switzerland's two biggest banks in which the shareholders of both institutions had no say.

The 167-year-old bank's final AGM was the first chance Credit Suisse shareholders had to voice their frustrations, and some were in tears as they counted the cost of the bank's implosion.

"I can understand the bitterness, the anger and the shock of all those who are disappointed, overwhelmed and affected by the developments," Lehmann said at the Hallenstadion, Zurich's biggest indoor arena.

With the bank's share price in freefall and fearing an imminent collapse that could have triggered an international banking crisis, the Swiss government and the central bank strongarmed UBS into taking over Credit Suisse on March 19.

Lehmann was brought in as chairman in January 2022 to fix the bank following a string of scandals that sapped investor confidence.

"Our plans were thwarted -- and for that I am truly sorry," he said.

"I apologise that we were no longer able to stem the loss of trust that has accumulated over the years."

He said that "the bank could not be saved" and "ultimately there were only two options: deal or bankruptcy".

'We will go after you'

Vincent Kaufmann, director of the Ethos foundation, which represents pension funds in Switzerland and owns stakes in both banks, told AFP: "This is a first mea culpa but also somehow a burial of one of the jewels of the Swiss economy."

Shareholders have seen the value of their investment plunge from 12.78 Swiss francs per share in February 2021 to the 0.76 francs they will receive in the $3.25-billion merger.

"I am angry and I lost 10,000 Swiss francs ($11,000). It's not so much but it's not good. It's (a lot of) money for my family," Stephan Denzler told AFP, tears forming in his eyes.

Shareholder Albert Keel told AFP: "I bought recently and lost everything of course... I've lost a six-figure sum."

Some 1,748 shareholders turned up and several took to the podium to savage the board.

One shareholder from Bern said: "This bank was robbed in a systematic fashion." 

"Are you crazy? Can you still sleep at night fully aware that you are destroying livelihoods?" she said. 

"We will come back for you, we will go after you," she concluded, followed by angry shouts from the floor towards the board.

Another shareholder said many small-scale investors had seen Credit Suisse as a safe security.

"Their pension has gone up in smoke and they might even think of killing themselves because they no longer have any money to finance their lives," he said.

Lehmann was ultimately re-elected as chairman until the UBS merger is closed, with 56 percent of the vote.

'Deep personal regret'

UBS faces its own annual general meeting in Basel on Wednesday.

The Swiss pair are among the 30 Global Systemically Important Banks -- deemed of such importance to the international banking system that they are considered too big to fail.

But following the collapse of three US regional banks in early March, the markets saw Credit Suisse -- which suffered a net loss of $7.9 billion in 2022 -- as the weak link.

The bank's share price plunged by more than 30 percent on March 15 to a record low of 1.55 Swiss francs. Despite reassurances, shares closed the week at 1.86 francs on March 17.

Fearing a bloodbath when the markets reopened on March 20, the government arm-twisted UBS into a deal.

Chief executive Ulrich Koerner said Credit Suisse's end was "a matter of deep personal regret to me. But the bank's survival was at stake and we... no longer had a choice".

"The collapse of Credit Suisse would have been disastrous, not just for Switzerland but for the global economy at large."

Florian Guenzel wore a jacket reading "Liquidate Criminal Suisse and banksters' assets" on the back, having travelled from Berlin.

"The train ticket was about a fourth of the value of my shares," he told AFP.

"It's a small sum here but it's a lot of money for me."